Echinacea plant named ‘TNECHCMR’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Echinacea  plant named ‘TNECHCMR’ characterized by raspberry-colored ray florets, enlarged dark raspberry-colored disc florets forming an anemone-type inflorescence, a multicrown, dwarf habit with upright strong stems, and excellent vigor.

Botanical denomination: Echinacea spp.

Variety designation: ‘TNECHCMR’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘TNECHCMR’. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. The new cultivar is part of a planned breeding program for a landscape series with compact habits and profuse inflorescences. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrids bred from Echinacea paradoxa, Echinacea purpurea, and Echinacea tennesseensis.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Cranberry Cupcake’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,020), the new cultivar is shorter, with inflorescences that dark raspberry-colored rather than rose pink.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Double Scoop Raspberry’, (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,117), this new cultivar is much shorter, forms more crowns from the base, and has inflorescences that are a darker raspberry color.

This new Echinacea cultivar is uniquely distinguished by:

-   -   1. raspberry-colored ray florets,     -   2. enlarged dark raspberry-colored disc florets forming an         anemone-type inflorescence,     -   3. a multicrown, dwarf habit with upright strong stems, and     -   4. excellent vigor.

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (cuttings and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a nine-month-old Echinacea ‘TNECHCMR’ growing in the trial field in full sun in late July in Canby, Oreg.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the raspberry-colored ray florets.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Echinacea cultivar based on observations of 18-month-old specimens growing in the trial bed in full sun in Canby, Oreg. Canby is in Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness map. Temperatures range from a high of 95° F. in August to an average of 32° F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches per year in the trial fields in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 5^(th) edition, 2007.

-   Plant:     -   -   Type.—Herbaceous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 4 to 9.         -   Size.—Grows to 80 cm wide and 50 cm tall to top of             inflorescences.         -   Form.—Basal clump, with about 24 stems from the base.         -   Vigor.—Excellent.         -   Roots.—Fibrous, with many downward growing and few laterals,             ivory in color, Yellow White 158D, roots develop easily from             cuttings from the crown. -   Leaf (stem):     -   -   Type.—Simple.         -   Shape.—Lanceolate.         -   Arrangement.—Alternate.         -   Blade size.—Grows to 11 cm long and 3.4 cm wide.         -   Margins.—Mostly entire.         -   Apex.—Acuminate.         -   Base.—Attenuate.         -   Surface texture.—Strigose on both sides.         -   Venation.—Pinnate, Yellow Green 145A on both sides, topside             slightly tinted Greyed Purple 187A.         -   Color.—Topside Green N137A, bottom side closest to Yellow             Green 147A.         -   Petiole description.—Clasping, grows to 4.5 cm long and 4 mm             wide, scabrous, narrow leafy edges, topside Yellow Green             147D lightly tinted Greyed Purple 187A, bottom side Yellow             Green 145A. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—Composite on terminal stalked heads.         -   Flowering stem.—Grows to 45 cm tall from the base of the             plant to the terminal inflorescence; unbranched to branched,             with 1 to 24 inflorescences per stem; diameter growing to 10             mm wide near the inflorescence; strigose; Yellow Green 147B             in shade, tinted 187A in sun.         -   Size.—Grows to 8 cm wide and 5.5 cm deep as disc enlarges.         -   Form.—Ray florets held slightly down, reflexing more in very             old inflorescences, mature disc is conic.         -   Immature inflorescence (bud).—2.5 cm wide and 1.7 cm deep,             ray florets held upright at a 70 degrees angle from vertical             and rolled up so only the back color shows, Red Purple 63A             except tip Greyed Yellow 160B, disc color Yellow Green 147A.         -   Ray florets.—Without pistil or stamen, number about 22 full             size and 0 to 10 undersize, full size florets grow to 40 mm             long and 11 mm wide, oblanceolate with the tip usually             two-toothed (each acute), entire margins, base attenuate,             glabrous on both sides; newly fully open florets topside             closest to Red Purple 60A, bottom side Greyed Purple 186B;             florets darken to topside Red Purple 59B, bottom side Red             Purple 59A; fading when old.         -   Disc.—Flat becoming conic, becoming to 40 mm deep and 50 mm             wide with maturity, overall color Red Purple 61A.         -   Disc florets.—To about 400 in number, each with 1 pistil and             4 stamen, grow to 22 mm long and 7 mm wide, each with one             persistent bract (15 mm long with the top 3 mm colored             Greyed Purple 187A on tip to 2 mm Yellow Green 148D blending             to White NN155B); showy 4 to 5 lobed corollas to 18 mm long             and 7 mm wide, tubular on the bottom with the lobes spread             out like a fan, glabrous on both sides, back side color Red             Purple 61A on lobes lightening to White NN155B at base,             inside color Red Purple 59B on lobes lighten to 62A at base;             pistil 10 mm long, ovary 4 mm long, White NN155A, style 5 mm             long White NN155A, 2-branched stigma spreading 1.5 mm wide,             Greyed Purple 187A; stamen 5 mm long, anthers 2.5 mm long             and Greyed Purple N186A, filaments 2.5 mm long, White 155A,             pollen none.         -   Involucral bracts.—In 4 leafy series, area grows to 32 mm             wide and 12 mm deep, lobes lanceolate in shape, reflexed,             grow to 14 mm long and 3 mm wide, Green 137A, margins             strigose, tip acute, strigose on both sides.         -   Receptacle.—Grows to 15 mm wide and 18 mm deep, White             NN155B.         -   Bloom period.—June through October in Canby, Oreg.         -   Fragrance.—Slight.         -   Lastingness.—Each inflorescence lasts about two weeks in             Canby, Oreg. -   Seeds: None.     -   -   Fertility.—Poor. -   Disease and pests: No pests or diseases have been observed on plants     grown under commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg. No resistances are     known. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct Echinacea plant as herein illustrated and described. 